Battery electric vehicles registrations continued to rise in April according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A total of 12,899 pre electric cars joined UK roads in April – an increase of 40.9% on the same month last year – and taking a 10.8% market share, up from 6.5% last year. 

Diesel registrations took a further hit, falling behind battery electric vehicles. A total of 12,645 diesel and hybrid diesel models were registered in April - 245 fewer than battery electric models. Diesel registrations have fallen by 52% compared to 2021.

While registrations of hybrids (HEVs) also rose by 18.3%, the number of new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations decreased by a third (-32.8%). As a result, electrified vehicles comprised 27.9% of all new car registrations during April.

According to the SMMT’s projections, which are based on buying trends, PHEV and full electric cars are now expected to account for a quarter of all registrations (25.2%) during the year, with BEVs alone comprising around one in six new cars on the road.

Although the SMMT does not break down model sales charts according to power type (electric, petrol etc), the MINI, Vauxhall Corsa, and Peugeot 208 (which are all available in pure electric form) all featured in the top 10. Tesla, which occupied the top two positions last month, did not appear in the April top ten. This is because the American brand ships and delivers cars in large batches at the end of each quarter. 

Diesel registrations took a further hit in April, falling behind battery electric vehicles. Registrations have fallen by 52% compared to 2021.